By ERIKA PICKLES
Niles Daily Star

EDWARDSBURG – If the first two minutes of Friday night’s Lakeland Conference game between Brandywine and Edwardsburg was any indication of how the night would pan out, the Eddies may have been in for a long night.

But when the Bobcats lost their star player just 1:58 into the game, things took a dramatic turn and the Eddies captured a 60-47 win on their home court.

An opening alley-oop from Brandywine’s Lance Prescott to junior star Jacob Frazier, followed by another bucket from Prescott, allowed the Bobcats to jump to a quick 4-0 lead just 20 seconds into the game.

But on Edwardsburg’s next possession, something happened to Frazier that no one saw coming.

While going up for a block, Frazier landed on his right ankle and immediately went down in severe pain. Spectators and Bobcat teammates watched in awe as the 6-foot-4 center clunge to his coach and any person in sight. His ankle had completely turned inward and appeared to be broken. Paramedics were called and Frazier was taken away on a stretcher.

“As of right now I’m being told it’s just dislocated, but I won’t believe it until I see it,” Brandywine head coach Nate Knapp said after the game. “I really can’t describe it. I thought for sure it was broken, but we won’t know anymore until later.”

Frazier’s absence definitely hit the Bobcat team hard and Knapp said it took his players a while to get back into the swing of things.

As the game resumed in the first period with 6:02 on the clock, Edwardsburg went on a 14-0 run and ended the first with a 14-6 lead.

Brandywine struggled with fouls throughout the first half and had a hard time putting points on the board. Edwardsburg opened the second period with a 7-0 run, including a 3-pointer from Nick Muir. Entering halftime, the Eddies held a 33-22 advantage.

Brandywine entered the second half looking more comfortable, but still struggled to find an answer for Frazier. Knapp explained that his bench stepped up and played a big role in the game, but despite a comeback attempt, the Bobcats were never able to get a spark.

“Jake is a rock. He’s our leader. We didn’t know how to react when we lost him. I think we played a lot harder in the second half, but we were still hurt. We’re not used to playing without him,” Knapp said.

Edwardsburg held a 45-37 lead after the third and went on to claim the victory.

Kyle Dale had a game-high 17 points for Edwardsburg, Josh Kozinski had 14 and Dustin Moore rounded out the double digit scoring with 10.

For Brandywine, Prescott led the way with 13 points, Cody Udell added seven.

“We have a lot of learning to do. We’re going to have to hit practice hard next week to look for answers. It’s never easy when you lose a key player, but as a team I think we’ll be able to fill his spot for now,” Knapp added.

Brandywine, now 2-5, will face Michigan Lutheran on the road Tuesday night.

Edwardsburg, 6-2, host Buchanan on Friday, Jan. 22.

BRANDYWINE 47
Jeremy Zimmerman 0 0-0 0; Cody Udell 3 1-2 7; Jesse McCombs 1 1-2 3; Dustin Sater 3 1-1 7; Lance Prescott 5 3-3 13; Stone Hadley 1 2-2 5; Dustin Bell 1 2-2 5; Cody Pierson 0 0-0 0; Wyatt Taylor 0 0-0 0; Jake Frazier 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 17 12-16 47
EDWARDSBURG 60
Chad Tevlin 0 0-0 0; Jake Harroff 2 4-6 8; Dniel Witucki 0 0-0 0; Ethan Zimmerman 0 0-0 0; Dustin Moore 3 2-4 10; Josh Kozinski 6 0-0 14; Zak Eggleston 0 0-0 0; Marcus Albrecht 2 0-1 4; Ron Preston 0 2-2 2; Nick Muir 2 0-0 5; Kyle Dale 8 1-3 17. TOTALS: 23 9-16 60
Brandywine 6 22 37 47
Edwardsburg 14 33 45 60
3-point baskets: Brandywine 1 (Bell), Edwardsburg 5 (Moore 2, Kozinski 2, Muir 1). Total fouls: Brandywine 17, Edwardsburg 16. Fouled out: McCombs (B). Varsity record: Brandywine 2-5, 1-4 Lakeland; Edwardsburg 6-2, 2-2 Lakeland